Unitary folding voting booth



UNITARY FOLDING VGTIN G BOOTH James Dertlerian and Everett Vernon Sanhorn, Met'huen, Mass.

Application March 18, 1954, Serial No. 417,109

Claims. (Cl. 20-3) This invention relates to folding voting booths of the type having two individual compartments.

Folding voting booths have heretofore been proposed having upright posts connected by folding braces and flexible walls, having rigid end walls and centrally foldable back walls, having foldable rigid walls held together by separable shelves and by separable front members and in many other forms.

Usually, however, such folding booths have the disadvantage that the walls do not fold compactly flatwise against each other, that there are separate parts which may become lost during storage or that they are so complicated as to result in high manufacturing cost.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a folding, two compartment voting booth in which all of the parts are hinged together and in which all of the parts fold into a compact, lightweight package for storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a voting booth wherein a pair of shelves serve the novel purpose of providing a horizontal writing surface, preventing the undesired folding of the device in use, and forming a brace or connecting member for producing the necessary rigidity of the device in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a voting booth made up of five substantially identical walls, three of the walls having openings or recesses for receiving all or part of the shelves and all of the walls being opaque above the shelves to shield the voter from observation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a foldable, unitary voting booth in which the free ends of hinged writing shelves are releasably connected to each other and to a central partition when in horizontal position but fold downwardly into shelf-receiving openings in the walls to which they are hinged when it is desired to fold up the walls, thereby permitting an extremely compact package.

Other advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of the drawing, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed, and from the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the foldable, unitary voting booth of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view from above showing an intermediate stage of folding of the booth.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Figs. 3 and 4 showing the final stage of folding of the booth and Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the pivoted latch for connecting the shelves to each other and to the central partition or wall.

As shown in the drawing the foldable, unitary voting booth A of the invention forms two individual compartments 20 and 21 when the device is unfolded as shown in Figs; l3. Five upstanding walls are provided includite States Patent 0 2,774,115 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 ing a central wall or partition member 22, a pair of back wall members 23 and 24 and a pair of end wall members 25 and 26. The five wall members of the invention are substantially identical, thus reducing cost of manufacture, the only non identical feature being a slight extension at 27 of the central wall 22 to fill up the space between walls 23 and 24 when the device is in use for appearance purposes. Preferably the booth A is of wood and the walls are each formed by a rectangular framework of about one and three quarter inch stock such as at 28 with plywood panels such as at 30,31, 32, 33 and 34 set therein in the upper portion of each wall member. Each panel such as- 30 may, however, be of any opaque material so long as they shield the voter from the view of individuals in adjoining compartments. The intermediate and lower portions of each wall are formed with an opening such as at 36, 37, 38 and 39 and braces such as 41, 42, 43, and 44 extending across the lower portion of each opening.

Hinges 50, 51, 52 and 53 are provided along each opposite side of the rear vertical edge portion 27 of the central partition member 22 for hingedly connecting with the inner vertical edges 54 and 55 of the back wall members 23 and 24. The back wall members 23 and 24 may thus be folded from a position parallel to central Wall member 22, with their respective inner faces 56 and 57 flatwise thereagainst, as shown in Fig. 5, to a position at right angles to central wall member 22, and in extension of each other, as shown in Figs. 1-3.

Hinges 60, 61, 62 and 63 are also provided along the vertical outer edges 64 and 65 of back wall members 23 and 24 for hingedly connecting with the inner vertical edges 66 and 67 of the end wall members 25 and 26. The end wall members 25 and 26 may thus be folded from a position parallel to central wall member 22 and back wall members 23 and 24, with their respective outer faces 68 and 69 flatwise against the outer faces 70 and 71 of the back walls through an angle of 270 to a position at right angles to back wall members 23 and 24 and again parallel to central wall member 22 to form the individual compartments 20 and 21 therewith.

The principal advantage of providing end wall members that fold around in back of the back walls, in an angle of unfolded and in use.

270, instead of folding toward the front of the back walls, in an angle of 90, is that in the latter case the hinge connection at the central partition would have to be spaced apart to accommodate two thicknesses of the walls and thus would permit voters to peer through the crack formed thereby when the booths are set up back to back. In this invention, such a space is also formed at the hinge connections 60, 61, 62 and 63 but it appears only when the device is folded and disappears when the device is Another advantage of the novel folding of the device is that the surface of the writing shelves, to be explained hereafter, are brought to the outside of the folded package forming the booth where they can be cleaned or resurfaced while in storage without unfolding the device.

A pair of identical writing shelves 73 and '74 are hingedly connected at one end '75 or 76 thereof, by hinges such as 77 and 78 to the lower edge portion of panels 32 and 33 of end wall members 25 and 26. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, shelves 73 and 74 when in depending position entirely fit within the confines of the end walls 24 and 25 in the shelf-receiving openings 38 and 39. Preferably a pair of obliquely positioned strips such as 79 and 80 are mounted across a corner of each opening 33 or 39 on the outer faces 68 or 69 of the end walls to form stops for the shelves. Preferably also a pair of pivoted catches 82 and 83 are provided on the inner faces 84 and 85 of end walls 25 and 26 on the braces 43 and 44 to form releasable stops for the shelves. Thus each shelf when depending from its hinges 77or 78 i5.

securely held flush with the end wall to which it is hinged and takes up no additional space when the walls are folded for storage.

As best shown in Fig. 6, each free terminal end 87 or 88 of writing shelves 73 and 74 is provided with'a headed pin such as so or 91 depending downwardly from the undersurface thereof near the terminal edges 92 'or. 93.

As indicated, the shelves 73 and 7 4 are of a suitable length whereby they may be swung upwardly on hinges 77 and 'iSto extend across a compartmentil) or 21in extension of each otherand in a horizontal plane with their end edges $2 and 93 almost butted against each other. In this horizontal position the ends enter the opening'dil, which I therefore term a shelf end opening, andeach shelf butts against athreaded element shaped to draw the shelves together tightly. against element 95 and a wing nut 99 is threaded on element 95 to tighten the latch 96 and lift the shelf ends 87 and 88 against the lower edge of the panel 34 of central wall 22. The shelves 73 and'74 together with the latching means above described thus serve the purpose of providing a horizontal surface supported at a single point on the central partition and at the same time rigidly bracing the walls in their position of use. r 7

It will be apparent that back walls 24 and 25 could be constructed without openings such as at 36 and 37 but that the invention requires a shelf-receiving opening or recess suchas 38 and 39 in the end walls 25 and 26 and. a shelf end receiving opening through the central 'partition 22 suflicient to accommodate such ends aswell as the latch means of the device. As stated above, however,

87 and 8.8. of theshelves central partition member for supporting the free ends of said shelves in a horizontal plane and retaining said free ends against movement away from each other in said horizontal plane. V

' 2. A folding voting booth as specified in claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises a. threaded element depending downwardly into the shelf opening and intermediate of the lower edge of the panel of said central partition member, a double hook latch mounted on said threaded element for pivoting in a horizontal plane,.a depending pin.

on the undersurface of each of said shelves for engagement in one of the hooked ends of said latch and a wing nut,threaded on said element for tightening said latch in place when the shelf 'pins 'are engaged in said double hooked latch. V

3. A folding voting booth as specified in claim 1 plus a pair of flat strips each fixed to the outer face of an end wall member and extending obliquely across a portion of opening when in downfolded position.

the shelf receiving opening therein for retaining a shelf within said opening when in downfolded position and a pair of pivoted catches each mounted on the inner face of an end wall member adjacent the shelf rec'eivingopen ing therein for detachably retaining a shelf within said 4. A two compartment, unitary, folding voting booth comprising a pair of upstanding back wall members, a pair of upstanding end wall members, and a central partition member, allof said members being substantially identical and having a closed, opaque upper portion and a skeletonized lower portion the upper and lower portions.

of said end wall members defining a rectangular shelf receiving opening; a pair of shelves, each hinged to one of said end wall members and adapted to fit wholly within the rectangular shelf receiving opening in said end wall it" is preferable that all of the walls be identical except 7 that the stock used as a filler at 27 on central partition 22 be slightlywider than the stock used for the remainder of theskeletonized rigid frameworkl a Iclaim:

l. A two compartment, unitary, folding voting booth comprising a central upstanding partition member havinga panel in its upper portion and a shelf end receiving opening through its'intermediate portion; a pair of identical upstanding back wall members each having a panel in its upper portion and each hinged along its inner verticaljedge'to an opposite side of the rear vertical edge of said central partition member to fold from a'position with its inside face flatwise thereagainst and parallel to the other to a position at right angles thereto and in extension of the other; a pair of identical, upstanding end wall members each having a panel in its upper portion and a shelf receiving opening in its lower portion, each end wall member being hinged along its inner vertical edge to the outer vertical edge of one of said back wall members to fold from a position with its outer face flatwise against the outer face of said back member through an angle of about 270 to'a position with its inner faceat right angles to the inner face of said back wall member; a pair of identical shelves, each hinged along the lower edge of the upper panel of one of said an entireshelf, a pair of shelves, each hinged to an end 7 end wall members to fold from a depending position whollywithin the shelf receiving opening of said. end wall member upwardly toward the other to a horizontal position in extension thereof and with the free terminal ends of said shelves substantially abutting against each other in the shelf end receiving opening of said central partition member and latching means mounted on said members, when in downfolded position, a 'shelf end receiving opening intermediate of the height of said eentralpartition member for receiving the butted ends of said shelves, hinges connecting said wall members for folding the same into a compact unitary grouping all parallel to and flatwise against each other and latching means including a double hooked latch on said central partition member and pins for engaging the hooks of said latch on the free terminal ends of said shelves for releasably connecting said shelf ends together and -to said central partition member, when said shelves are in up-folded position. 7 i V 1 5. A foldable unitary voting booth having 'two individual compartments, said booth comprising two end,

walls, two back walls and a central wall, all of said. walls being rigid and substantially identical; hinge means along the meeting corners of said rigid walls for folding said. walls parallel to, and flatwise against each other while still hingedly joined; a shelf end receiving opening intermediate of the height of said central wall .for receiving the butted ends of a pair of shelves; a shelf receiving recess in the lower, portion of each end wall for accommodating wall above the shelf receiving recess therein and adapted to swing'from a depending position wholly within said recess to a horizontal position extending across an individual compartment with itsfree end in the shelf end receiving opening in said central wall, and latch meanson said central wall for connecting the free ends of said shelves to each other and to said central wall for bracing said boothand supporting said horizontal shelves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED 'STATES PATENTS J 657,029. Rafter Aug.'28, 1900 1,045,854 Kevitt Dec. 3, 1912 1,097,728 Redfield f May 26, 1914 1,120,298 Fisher Dec. 8, 1914 1,246,614 Kress Nov.'13, 1917. 

